Cuts of Lamb guide from Morley Butchers - MORLEY BUTCHERS Cuts of Lamb guide from Morley Butchers Cuts of Lamb guide from Morley Butchers Home /Cuts of Lamb guide from Morley Butchers Cuts of Lamb guide from Morley Butchers Morley Butchers 2016-10-18T10:03:37+00:00 Cuts of Lamb Guide and cooking tips from Morley Butchers Click image to view larger version Use this guide to the different cuts and joints of lamb to get the best match for the recipe you want to cook or how much you want to spend. Different parts of the animal are better suited for different recipes and cooking methods. The most tender cuts will be good for frying and grilling others will be at their best when slow cooked by braising or in a stew. Choosing the right cut Be aware that many of the cheaper cuts deliver the best flavours. Longer cooking breaks down the denser fibres creating tender meat in a thicker delicious sauce or gravy.

During the animals life different parts of the body will develop in different ways depending on the amount of work they do.This means that individual cuts will have differing proportions of muscle, fat and connective tissues. For example those that have worked the hardest such as (the neck which is constantly moving about as the animal grazes) will build up more fibre and sinew. Other factors to consider are the provenance of the animal. We select meat from suppliers that have taken care to raise animals that will cook well with great flavour. We use a specialist Lamb supplier in London’s Smithfield Market because lamb quality from different farms and producers varies throughout the year depending on regional conditions that effect the grass on which the animals feed. If you want to know more about the provenance of our meat please ask us – we are your local experts. Find out more about the Lamb from Morley Butchers here >> Cuts of Lamb Guide: descriptions and recommended cooking methods Neck of Lamb When cut into thick slices this bony part of the neck ( know sometimes as Scrag End) it is very tasty and good for slow cooking. Also from this section are Neck Fillets – the same muscles but taken off the bone. Stew or braise until tender.

Both these cuts are often underrated and as a result inexpensive. Shoulder of Lamb Lamb shoulder is usually sold whole or halved on the bone. This part of the animal has worked hard so is better for slow roasting to break down any fibres to be really tender, Shoulder is also sold boned and rolled for roasting or diced for casseroles, curries or stewing. Minced lamb is also taken from this section of the animal. Best End Of Lamb Neck (Best End), Rack of Lamb This section produces some of the most tender cuts of Lamb. Best End is the first eight ribs which are known as “The Rack”. The Rack can be cut in several ways. If the ends of the bones are exposed after the fat has been trimmed away it is termed “French Trimmed”. Two racks roasted together with the bones intertwined are known as a “Guard of Honour”. A rack of Lamb can also be trimmed and tied into a circle to form a “Crown of Lamb” – a most impressive roast to serve at your table. Lamb Cutlets Cutting between the rib bones produces Lamb Cutlets. Meat from this same section taken off the bone makes a “Valentine Steak”. Both of these are good for pan frying or grilling.

Lamb Loin This portion provides Loin Chops for grilling or frying, similarly a Barnsley Chop – which is double the size being both sides of the animal. Off the bone this section provides Noisettes or in one piece a Cannon. These are all very tender and will cook quickly. The whole loin, both sides of the Lamb roasted as a piece, is a very splendid joint known as a Saddle of Lamb this is a large joint for 8 or 10 people. Lamb Chump At the lower back of the animal where the loin meets the leg is known as the Chump. From here you can get Chump Chops and Chump Steaks. As a whole piece off the bone this is called a Chump Joint. All these are good for grilling and BBQ but can also be delicious if baked slowly in the oven. Leg of Lamb Whole, half or boned Leg of Lamb will make a perfect roast. For grilling and frying or the BBQ Leg of lamb is often sold as Leg Steaks, stir fry strips, or cubed for kebabs.

A leg of lamb that has been ‘Butterflied”’ is a boned leg opened up into a large flat piece which has a rough butterfly shape. This too can be roasted or grilled. Lamb Shank The lower leg from this section is Lamb Shank. As a harder working part of the animal this needs slow cooking or braising; full of flavour it will become very tender and fall off the bone when cooked in this way. An affordable option (but having found favour with many chefs – not as cheap as it used to be). Lamb Breast This is the belly area of the Lamb. This is usually sold as a rolled joint for roasting. It is a quite fatty cut but when slow cooked this melts away to leave a tender and very tasty meat. This is one of the best value, least expensive cuts. Have a look at some of the recent posts on Lamb from the Butchers Blog. There are plenty of ideas, recipes and cooking tips. THE PRACTICE OF COOKERY - CHAPTER IV - MUTTON THE PRACTICE OF COOKERY The names of various Pieces are: - In England.

Hind Quarter: Leg ï¿½ Loin, best end ï¿½ Loin, chump end ï¿½ Neck, best end. Fore Quarter: Neck, scrag end ï¿½ Shoulder ï¿½ Breast. In Scotland. The Leg ï¿½ the Loin ï¿½ the Fore Quarter. The two Loins joined together are called a Chine. A saddle of Mutton is the two Necks joined together. PREPARATORY REMARKS ON MUTTON. The finest Mutton is that of the mountain, or black-faced sheep of Scotland, and that of the South Downs and Welsh sheep. Sheep are in perfection from the age of four to five. In May and June, or just before shearing, mutton tastes strongly of the coat, or what is called woolly. Wedder Mutton, which is the best, may be known by a prominent lump of fat at the edge of the broadest part of the inside of the leg. That meat should be chosen which is fine in the grain, bright in the colour, and the fat firm and white.

The flesh of the ewe is of a paler colour; that of the ram is strongly flavoured, is of a deep red colour, and the fat spungy. For keeping Mutton, the same directions may be observed as for keeping beef. The Haunch is the prime joint. It should be roasted at a good brisk fire, and basted as beef, the fat being first covered with a piece of white paper. Before serving, half a sheet of foolscap paper, folded and fringed, should be put round the shank bone. The Haunch, weighing fourteen pounds, will require two hours and a half to roast. Currant jelly sauce should be served with it. When a Leg of Mutton is to be boiled, it should first be washed clean, then put on, in boiling water, and carefully scummed. If weighing eight or nine pounds, it should be boiled nearly three hours, and then served with caper sauce. A saddle or a chine, that is to say, two necks or two loins, a joint, generally called, indifferently, a saddle of mutton, being broad, requires a strong fire.

The skin should be taken off, and skewered on again, or paper may be substituted for it, tied on with a buttered string. It should be well basted, and a quarter of an hour before serving, the skin or paper removed; it is then allowed to brown a little, is sprinkled with salt, basted, and dredged with flour, served with gravy in the dish, and currant jelly sauce. A shoulder of Mutton should be roasted an hour and a half, and served with onion sauce, in a sauce tureen. A Loin of Mutton should be carefully jointed, roasted the same length of time as a shoulder, and is carved lengthwise. The best end of a Neck of Mutton should be jointed, and roasted, the same as the loin; or it may be boiled. If boiled, the skin should be taken off before serving, and caper sauce poured over it. A Breast of Mutton may be parboiled, grilled, and served with onion and caper sauce. TO DRESS A SHOULDER OF MUTTON. Bone a small shoulder of mutton; roll it, and put it into a cloth; put it on in boiling water.

Have ready a nice white sauce; stir into it some thick cream, and add some chopped Indian pickle. Make it all hot, but take care not to let it boil, and pour it over the mutton. FRENCH MUTTON STEAKS. Cut a neck of mutton into neat steaks; put them into a sauce-pan, with sufficient water to cover them; add a small bunch of sweet herbs, two or three onions, and some pepper. Let them boil two minutes; take them out, and stew the trimmings of the steaks with the herbs till the gravy is sufficiently strong; them strain it, and take off all the fat. Rub the steaks with a well-beaten yolk of an egg, strew over them bread crumbs mixed with finely-chopped sweet herbs, and fry them of a nice brown. Thicken the gravy with a little browned butter and flour, add a table-spoonful of vinegar, and when it is quite hot, pour it into the dish, and lay in the steaks. MUTTON CUTLETS.

Cut into cutlets a pound and a half of the thick part of a leg of mutton, and beat them; mix with grated bread crumbs, some pepper, salt, and finely-chopped parsley, lemon thyme, and sweet marjoram. Rub the cutlets with melted butter, and cover them thickly with the prepared bread; fry them for ten minutes in butter; then put them into a sauce-pan, with some good gravy thickened with flour and butter, and simmer them for ten or fifteen minutes. MOCK VENISON. Hang up a large fat loin of mutton for several days; then bone it, and take off all the kidney fat, and the skin from the upper fat; mix together two ounces of brown sugar, and one ounce of ground black pepper. Rub it well into the mutton; pour over it two or three wine-glasses of port wine; keep it covered with the skin; rub and turn it daily for five days. When it is to be roasted, cover it with the skin, and paper it the same way as venison is done. Serve it with made grave, and the same sauces as for venison. MAINTENON CHOPS.

Cut a neck of mutton into chops; beat them flat with a rolling-pin. Bruise the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, and mix with it chopped sweet herbs, grated bread, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cover the steaks with it, and put each into a piece of well-butter paper; broil them over a clear fire, turning them often. Serve them in the paper, or with a browned gravy. A HARICOT OF MUTTON. Trim the chops neatly, by shortening the bone. If the whole of the best end of the neck is to be used, put on the trimmings in half a pint of water, and let it simmer for fifteen minutes. Fry some sliced onions in a little butter; take them out; flour the chops, and fry them quickly, of a nice brown colour; put them into a sauce-pan with the onions, and some carrots and turnips cut into dice; strain the gravy into the frying-pan, boil it up, and add to the chops and vegetables, with two or three cloves, a little allspice and pepper.

It should simmer for two hours; and just before serving, clear off the scum, and thicken with a little flour rubbed down in cold water, and add a table-spoonful of mushroom catsup. TO STEW A SHOULDER OF MUTTON. Bone a shoulder of mutton with a sharp knife, and fill the space with the following stuffing: - Grated bread, minced suet, parsley, pepper, salt, and nutmeg; bind with the yolks of two well-beaten eggs. Sew or fasten it with small skewers; brown it in a frying ï¿½pan, with a bit of butter. Bread the bone, put it into a sauce-pan, with some water, an onion, pepper, salt, and a bunch of parsley; let it stew till the strength be extracted; strain, and thicken it with butter rolled in flour; put it, with the mutton, and a glass of port wine, into the sauce-pan; cover it closely, and let it stew gently for two hours. Before serving, add two table-spoonfuls of mushroom catsup. Garnish with pickles. ANOTHER WAY TO STEW A SHOULDER OF MUTTON.

Bone and flatten a shoulder of mutton; sprinkle over it pepper and salt, roll it up tightly, bind it with tape, and put it into a stew-pan that will just hold it; pour over it a well-seasoned gravy made with the bones, cover the pan closely, and let it stew till tender; before serving, take off the tape, thicken the gravy, and garnish with cut pickles. TO STEW A FILLET OF MUTTON, OR A BREAST OF BEEF. Put a fillet of mutton or a piece of beef, weighing about seven pounds, into a stew-pan, with a carrot, a turnip, an onion stuck with two or three cloves, and a pint of water. Put round the edge of the stew-pan, a rim of coarse paste, that the cover may be kept very close, and let it stew gently three hours and a half; take out the meat, skim off the fat, strain and thicken the gravy; have ready some boiled carrots and turnips cut to fancy, add them to the gravy, make all hot, and serve with a garnish of sliced gherkins. TO STEW A LOIN OF MUTTON.

Bone and skin the loin; stew it in a pint of water, turning it frequently; when the liquor is half wasted, take out the loin and strain it, and when cold take off the fate; make a rich highly-seasoned gravy of the bones; strain and mix it with the liquor the loin was stewed in; add a tea-cupful of port wine, and some small mushrooms; thicken the sauce with butter rolled in flour; put in the mutton, and heat it thoroughly; garnish with pickles. TO KEBBOB A LOING OF MUTTON. Bone a good-sized loin of mutton, and take off all the fat; cut or draw off the outside skin, nearly to the bottom. Mix with grated bread, parsley, thyme, and shallot finely minced, and season with pepper, salt, pounded mace, grated lemon-peel and nutmeg; rub the beaten yolk of an egg over the mutton and the skin; put a layer of the stuffing, turn the skin over, and sew it at the sides and top; rub more egg, and strew some of the stuffing over the outside.

Baste it while roasting with butter, and dredge it three or four times with the stuffing. Serve it with a rich grave, to which add a glass of port wine and some catsup. TO CALABINE A LOIN OF MUTTON. Cut the loin into pieces, weighing about a pound each; rub them over with pepper, salt, and grated lemon-peel; fasten each piece upon the spit or upon a skewer, but not too close; when nearly roasted, strew over them grated bread. Serve with good gravy, and garnish with cut lemons. KEW MINCE. Cut a pound of meat from a leg of cold roasted mutton, and mince it very finely, together with six ounces of suet; mix with it three of four eggs, one anchovy chopped, some pepper and salt, and half a pint of port wine; put it into a caul of veal, and bake it in a quick oven; turn it out into a dish, and pour some brown gravy over it; serve with it venison sauce. ï¿½ When a veal caul is not to be had, the mince may be done in a sauce-pan. IRISH STEW.

Cut the best end of a neck of mutton into chop; put them into a sauce-pan with four or five pounds of potatoes, six minced onions, some pepper and salt, and a quart of cold water; keep the pan closely covered, and when it boils remove it to the side of the fire, that it may simmer with a gentle heat for two or three hours; before serving, add a table-spoonful or two of catsup. TO HARICOT A NECK OF MUTTON. Roast it till nearly done, then cut it into cutlets, and stew in a well-seasoned gravy, adding, cut like straws an inch long, the red part of two or three carrots and some turnips. ROLLED MUTTON.

Bone a shoulder of mutton carefully, so as not to injure the skin; cut all the meat from the skin, mince it small, and season it highly with black and Jamaica pepper, nutmeg, and a clove, some parsley, lemon thyme, sweet marjoram chopped, and a pounded onion, all well mixed together with a well-beaten yolk of an egg; roll it up very tightly in the skin, tie it round, and bake it in an oven two or three hours, according to the size of the mutton. Make a gravy of the bones and parings, season with an onion, pepper, and salt, strain and thicken it with flour and butter; add of vinegar, mushroom catsup, soy, and lemon pickle, a table-spoonful each, and a tea-cupful of port wine; garnish with forcemeat balls, made of grated bread and part of the mince. HAGGIS.

Wash and clean the heart and lights, parboil and mince them very small; add one pound of minced, and two small handfuls of oatmeal; season highly with pepper and salt, and mix all well together; the bag being perfectly clean and sweet, put in the ingredients, press out the air, sew it up, and boil it for three hours. TO BROIL A COLD ROASTED SHOULDER OF MUTTON. A cold shoulder of roast mutton, having only a little meat upon the blade bone, may be scored, sprinkled with pepper and salt, then broiled, and served with caper sauce poured over it, or melted butter, in which should be mixed of mushroom catsup, lemon pickle, and Harvey sauce, a table-spoonful each. A HAUCH OF MUTTON LIKE VENISON.

Take a fat haunch of large fine mutton, let it hang a week, then pound one ounce of black, and one ounce of Jamaica pepper, and rub them over the mutton; pour a bottle of port wine over it, and let it remain in this five days, basting it frequently every day with the liquor; take it out, and hang it up four or five days more, or as long as the weather favours its keeping; wipe it three or four times a-day with a clean cloth. While it is roasting, baste it with the liquor it was steeped in, adding a little more port wine; a quarter of an hour before taking it from the fire, baste it well with butter, and dredge flour over it to froth it up. Serve it with sauces as for venison. BAKED MUTTON CHOPS. Cut a neck of mutton into neat chops; season them with salt and pepper, butter a dish, lay in the chops, and pour over them a batter made of a quart of milk, four eggs beaten up, four table-spoonfuls of flour, and a little salt. An hour will back them. TO DRESS MUTTON CHOPS.

Pare and trim the chops; dip them into hot melted butter, and cover them with grated bread mixed with chopped parsley, a little sweet marjoram, salt, and pepper; then dip the chops into the yolks of eggs beaten up, and cover them with the crumbs as before; fry them in butter, and serve them with onions browned in butter and seasoned with salt and pepper, or with a thickened brown gravy. ANOTHER WAY TO DRESS MUTTON CHOPS. Cut the chops off a loin or the best end of a neck of mutton; pare off the fat, dip them into a beaten egg, and strew over them grated bread, seasoned with pepper, salt, and some finely-minced parsley; fry them in a little butter, and lay them upon the back of a sieve to drain before the fire. Thicken about half a pint of gravy, add a table-spoonful of catsup, and one of port wine; put the gravy into the dish and lay in the chops; garnish with fried parsley or cut lemon. HASHED MUTTON.

Cut the meat into small thin bits; pare off the skin and sinews, leaving a little fat; thicken some well-seasoned gravy, add the meat, and let it simmer till it be hot, but do not allow it to boil. A little catsup, port wine, or vinegar, may be put in just before serving. Garnish with sippets of bread or with cut pickles. HASHED MUTTON LIKE VENISON. To half a pint of rich gravy, add a large glass of port wine, one table-spoonful of catsup, one tea-spoonful of pounded sugar, a small quantity of minced onion, and ten cloves. Boil about twelve minutes; strain and put in the sliced mutton, and let it simmer for three minutes. CHINA CHILO. Skin and chop the meat finely, and also part of the fat of a loin of mutton, and season it with a large spoonful of salt, and a tea-spoonful of ground pepper; add two large onions shred, a half a pint of green peas, one lettuce cut small, four spoonfuls of water, and a quarter of a pound of clarified butter.

Let all this stew in a pipkin for three hours, and serve it in the middle of a pound of rice boiled dry. SHEEPï¿½S LIVER. Cut it into slices; wash it well, and dry it in a cloth; flour, and season it with pepper and salt, and fry it in butter, with a good deal of minced parsley and an onion; add a sufficient quantity of gravy or hot water to make a sauce, and let it stew a few minutes. It may be fried quite plain, and when cut into slices, should be washed in milk and water. SHEEPï¿½S MINCE. Wash the heart and lights very clean; boil them about half an hour; mince them finely; mix a piece of butter with flour, brown it in a stew-pan, and add some of the liquor the heart and lights were boiled in. Put in the mince with some chopped onion; season with salt and pepper, cover it closely, and let it stew half an hour. Before serving, add a table-spoonful of mushroom catsup. TO COLLAR A BREAST OF MUTTON.

Bone it and take out all the gristles; make a forcemeat with crumbs of bread, chopped parsley, a little lemon thyme, and one anchovy minced; season with salt and white pepper; rub the mutton over with an egg beaten up, cover it with the forcemeat, roll it firmly, tie it with tape, and put it on in a bunch of parsley and lemon thyme, pepper and salt; strain and thicken it with a piece of butter mixed with flour. A little before serving, add a table-spoonful of vinegar and two of mushroom catsup. Garnish with cut lemon or pickles. THE BREASTS OF MUTTON A LA STE. MENOULT. Stew them with carrots, onions, and spices in gravy; and when done, drain them and take out the bones, flatten the meat between two dishes, and when cold cut it into the form of cutlets or hearts; brush them with the beaten yolk of an egg, roll them in grated bread, then in clarified butter, and again in the grated bread. Bake them in an oven till of a fine brown colour, and serve them with a sauce Italienne, or any other sauce.

LEG OF MUTTON STUFFED. Carefully bone and cut off all the fat of a leg of mutton, but keep the skin whole; take out the meat also, and mince it with one third of its quantity of fat bacon, and some parsley; season the whole well, stuff the skin with it, and sew it upon the underside; fasten it in a cloth, and put it into a stew-pan, with some slices of veal, some carrots and onions, and cover the whole with thin slices of fat bacon; let it stew for about four hours, then drain the liquor through a silk sieve, reduce it to a glaze, and glaze the leg of mutton; serve it with haricot beans dressed as follows: - Soak one quart of white haricot beans in water for three hours, and boil them in cold soft water with a little bit of fresh butter. Fry a very large white onion, finely minced, in two ounces of butter; when done, add a table-spoonful of flour, and moisten it with some good gravy, then add a few of the haricot beans, and rub it through a tammy or sieve; season it with pepper and salt.

Drain the beans, and add the sauce to them. TO SALT A LEG OF MUTTON. Rub it well with common salt; the next day wipe it dry, and put it into beef pickle for six or seven days, when it will be ready for use, and should be plain boiled. Mashed turnips and broccoli, or greens, may be served with it. LEG OF MUTTON WITH VEGETABLES. Cut off all the fat and the end of the knuckle of a small tender leg of mutton, and tie it round. Stew it with some weak stock, six onions, three heads of celery, three or four turnips, two or three carrots, and half a cabbage cut small, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Boil all together for a quarter of an hour; take out all the vegetables, and put them into cold water for about twenty minutes; press the water from them, put them into the stew-pan; add pepper and a little salt, and stew them till the mutton is tender. Serve it with the gravy and vegetables poured over and round it. TO STEW SHEEPï¿½S TONGUES.

Boil three tongues till the skin will come off; split, without separating them; put them into a sauce-pan with some good stock, adding two spoonfuls of cullis, or two spoonfuls of bread chippings boiled in a little stock, and passed through a tammy, a glass of white wine, some parsley, cibol, mushrooms, and a clove of garlic, all finely minced, a little bit of butter, pepper and salt; let it boil for half an hour, that the sauce may neither be too thin nor too thick, and serve it. SHEEPï¿½S TAILS. Stew five or six tails for three or four hours in some stock, with roots, sweet herbs, pepper and salt; let them cool; dip them into the beaten yolks of eggs, then into bread crumbs; fry them of a fine colour, and serve them with fried parsley. Calvesï¿½ and lambs tails may be done in the same way. BOILED NECK OF MUTTON. Bone the best end of a neck of mutton, boil it for an hour, take off the skin, and serve it with turnips mashed with a little butter and cream.

SHEEPï¿½S KIDNEYS BROILED. Wash and dry some nice kidneys; cut them in half, and with a small skewer keep them open in imitation of two shells; season them with salt and pepper, and dip them into a little fresh melted butter. Broil first the side that is cut, and be careful not to let the gravy drop in taking them off the gridiron. Serve them in a hot dish, with finely-chopped parsley mixed with melted butter, and juice of a lemon, pepper and salt, putting a little upon each kidney. This is an excellent breakfast for a sportsman. SHEEPSï¿½ TROTTERS FRIED. Clean some sheepsï¿½ trotters nicely; scald and wash them in hot water; stew them in that sauce in which Calfï¿½s Head, plain, is boiled, and bone them. Fry, but not till brown, in a little butter, some carrots, onions, a little parsley-roots, all cut small, thyme, a shallot, a small bay leaf, and a clove.

When they begin to colour, moisten them with water and vinegar mixed in equal parts, and let it all stew till the vegetables are quite tender; season with pepper and salt, and strain it through a silk sieve over the sheepsï¿½ trotters, then fry the trotters in this batter; put nearly four table-spoonfuls of flour into an earthen pan, with a little salt, a little olive oil, and as much good beer or water as will moisten the paste; when well mixed, add the beaten white of two eggs; dip the trotters into this, and fry them instantly. The marinade cuite, or pickles, into which the trotters are laid, and the paste in which they are fried, may be used for beef, and other meats. The same recipe may be followed exactly for calfï¿½s feet. TO CURE MUTTON HAM.

Cut a hind quarter of good mutton into the shape of a ham; pound one ounce of saltpetre, with one pound of coarse salt and a quarter of a pound of brown sugar; rub the ham well with this mixture, taking car to stuff the hole of the shank well with salt and sugar, and let it lie a fortnight, rubbing it well with the pickle every two or three days; then take it out, and press it with a weight for one day; smoke it with saw-dust for ten or fifteen days, or hang it to dry in the kitchen. If the ham is to be boiled soon after is has been smoked, soak it one hour; and if it has been smoked any length of time, it will require to be soaked several hours. Put it on in cold water, and boil it gently two hours. It is eaten cold at breakfast, luncheon, or supper. A mutton ham is sometimes cured with the above quantity of salt and sugar with the addition of half an ounce of white pepper, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, and one nutmeg.

Return to our Practice of Cookery Index page This comment system requires you to be logged in through either a Disqus account or an account you already have with Google, Twitter, Facebook or Yahoo. In the event you don't have an account with any of these companies then you can create an account with Disqus. All comments are moderated so they won't display until the moderator has approved your comment. Beef, Lamb and Pork Cuts Beef, Lamb and Pork Cuts Click on the image images to view an enlarged version Brisket: Brisket is a beef cut taken from the breast section beneath the first five ribs, behind the foreshank. Fresh brisket is an inexpensive boneless cut that requires long, slow cooking. Chuck or blade: Taken from the shoulder, this cut is similar to neck, but can also be bought as a roasting joint. As this joint isn't as tender as other cuts of beef, it needs slow-roasting to achieve best results. Steaks and diced meat from the chuck are ideal for casseroles, or even braising. Flank: Sometimes called thick flank or thin flank, depending on the thickness of the meat, determined by which part of the animal it comes from.

The flank is quite lean and is generally useful for casseroles and curries or for slow-roasting. It needs to retain the moisture that would be lost in quick-roasting. Forerib: Taken from the back of the animal, forerib is a useful roasting cut. Sometimes, the ends of the bones are cut off to make a separate joint. You may wish to buy a forerib joint boned and rolled, so that stuffing and carving is easier. Neck or clod: The meat from the neck of beef contains quite a large amount of fat and isn't as tender as the premium cuts. This makes it ideal for slow-cooking. Neck can be bought as steaks or ready-diced, which is perfect for casseroles and stews. Ribs: Taken from the side of beef, ribs can be bought on the bone or as a boned-and-rolled joint. Similar to sirloin, but not as tender, the ribs make an ideal, mid-priced roasting joint. Shin: The shin of beef is from the front leg and the leg cut is from the hind limb.

Ideal for stews and casseroles as it melts down during the long, slow cooking and gives extra flavour to the sauce. Topside and silverside: Two separate cuts of slightly different quality. Topside is similar to rump and can be roasted as a boneless joint. Silverside is a coarser cut of beef than topside and doesn't roast as well. It's often used for making boiled beef dishes or mince. Rump: with its layer of accompanying fat, is considered one of the best (and most flavorful) beef cuts. Sirloin: cut from the rear back portion of the animal, continuing off the short loin from which T-bone, porterhouse, and club steaks are cut. The sirloin is actually divided into several types of steak. The top sirloin is the most prized of these. The bottom sirloin is less tender, much larger, and is typically what is offered when one just buys sirloin steaks instead of steaks specifically marked top sirloin. The bottom sirloin in turn connects to the sirloin tip roast. Fillet: cut of meat that is boneless and tender that originates from the tenderloin. Tender and flavoursome meat.

Sautéing and grilling are the best ways to cook a beef fillet. Breast: This cut is one of the cheapest from lamb - similar in price to scrag end - but is quite versatile. It can be roasted on the bone, which results in a crispy skin. However, if the skin is removed for the joint to be rolled, it must be done properly or the tucked-in pieces will be undercooked. When breast is boned and rolled, it can be stuffed with the filling of your choice. Chump: Chump is used mostly for chops or, with the bone removed, steaks. They're ideal for grilling or barbecuing. However, it's wise to check how much bone you're getting in the chop as the bone is significantly larger towards the front end of the chump area. Leg: This cut of lamb is probably the most versatile, although it's also one of the most expensive, especially when bought as steaks. Leg of lamb makes a very good roast joint, or it can be split into two smaller pieces - the fillet at the top of the leg and the shank towards the foot. The end of the shank is particularly tasty if eaten straight after cooking, rather than left to cool.

If the butcher has removed the bone, leg of lamb can be treated in much the same way as topside or silverside of beef, including being cut into lean steaks. Leg steaks with the bone left in are often called middle leg. Loin: The loin of lamb is in fact two cuts: best end of neck towards the front of the animal and loin (sometimes known as middle loin or double loin) towards the rear. Loin can be relatively expensive, depending on the level of trimming done by the butcher. As both cuts come from the back, they yield cutlets which can be grilled in the same way as chops. Best-end cutlets are slightly less juicy than loin chops. In fact, T-bone style chops are also cut from the loin. Further trimming leaves the chops as noisettes - small lamb steaks. The roast most associated with best-end is the rack of lamb or guard of honour, named because of the effect of the ribs lined up before serving. Bought in this way, the joint can be quite tricky to carve, but any butcher will be happy to chine the joint (take the back bone out to leave easily separable cutlets) or to French trim the meat (also removing the skin).

A more expensive - but much easier to carve - alternative is to buy the loin boned and rolled. Scrag: Also known as scrag end or neck end, scrag is one of the cheaper cuts of lamb, from the upper part of the neck. This area does not yield large joints of meat and what's produced is often more fatty than other cuts. Consequently, scrag end meat is usually chopped or diced and used in stews and casseroles. Shoulder: Shoulder is one of the traditional roasting joints, although it's often sold as two separate joints - blade and knuckle - with different major bones and therefore different serving cuts. Today, the knuckle bone itself is becoming more popular as a distinct cut because it's full of flavour when casseroled and served straight away. Shoulder is relatively costly as a lamb cut, even more so if you buy it boned and rolled. Many butchers will also bone shoulder and trim off the back fat to sell the meat as lean cubes for curries, kebabs and casseroles. Chump: Similar to loin, chump comes in the form of chops and steaks, plus you can also buy a mini joint of this meat.

It's medium priced compared with the rest of the animal. Leg: Leg is seen as the premium-quality pork joint. As a roasting joint, it provides lean meat, though it's the most costly cut. Steaks and diced meat from the leg are also very lean and good for grilling or stir-frying. The leg also gives ham and gammon, plus high-quality bacon. Belly: Belly of pork is a lower-cost cut of meat, due to the relatively high traces of fat in it. However, this means that the cuts are ideal for longer cooking periods and recipes where the meat might dry out. Belly provides steaks (with or without bones), cubes and strips as well as being a cheaper roasting joint. The smaller cuts are ideal for barbecues and casseroles. Similarly, you can buy a mini joint of boned and rolled belly pork which can also be cooked over the barbecue in foil then browned with no foil a few minutes prior to serving. Mini or normal-sized belly joints can be trimmed by the butcher, but many people like to have the skin replaced or left on to provide crackling. Ribs: Ribs are a relatively cheap cut of pork as they contain a smaller ratio of meat to bone.

The discarded bones from chops are sold as spare ribs - pieces that have some meat, but not enough to be classed as proper chops. These can be marinated and grilled or barbecued. Ribs are also cut and sold in the same way as chops, with quite a large amount of meat still on the bone. The rib joint of pork contains more meat and can be treated like the rack of lamb as a piece that's ideal for open roasting or glazing and can be carved easily between the ribs so long as the chine bone is removed. Loin: The loin joint that runs across most of the back of the pig provides a number of smaller cuts which many people are familiar with. Chops contain some bone which makes them slightly cheaper than boneless steaks. Loin provides bacon with varying degrees of fat running through it, from lean to streaky. These cuts are all mid-priced for pork. For roasting, the loin joint costs a little more, but is very useful either on the bone or boned and rolled to give a piece of meat that's easily stuffed and carved. Shoulder: The shoulder joint of pork can be bought as smaller cuts or as a whole roasting joint.

It's relatively inexpensive, so is ideal for a roast if you're working on a tighter budget, as well as having a rich flavour. Shoulder meat is also used for diced cubes to make casseroles and kebabs as well as being minced and made into sausages. Collar or neck end: The collar of pork is used for a number of different cuts such as spare ribs, chops, boneless steaks, diced pork and mince. The common feature of all the meat is that it's slightly fatty and therefore doesn't dry out when cooked for a long time. The cost of collar cuts is relatively low compared to other pork cuts. Head: The head is useful for making stocks and soups as it contains a large amount of bone. One use of the head that does survive is in making brawn. The head is boiled with herbs and seasoning, then the meat is cleaned off and refrigerated with the stock to make a loaf, similar to a terrine or pâté. If you were to buy the joint, it would be very cheap. Information courtesy of The meat guide: lamb - delicious.

magazine Register X The meat guide: lambThe sight of flocks of sheep in the fields is very much part of the British landscape, and it is this pasture on which they feed that makes our lamb so special. Apart from a brief spell under cover during the harshest part of the winter, sheep spend most of their lives outside, grazing; it is the most natural free-range meat you can buy. Share: Print article Save to my delicious Britain’s earliest spring lamb is on sale just in time for Easter, but although this meat is tender, it does not necessarily have the best flavour. The animals are still very young, and have not yet spent enough time grazing on lush pasture for their meat to develop much flavour. British lamb is in its prime in early summer, and it continues to improve right the way through to the autumn, during which time the flavour develops as the animals get bigger and the joints increase in size. New Zealand has a similar climate to us and plenty of pasture, which means it produces very good lamb. And although it was once always frozen, regular air traffic means chilled fresh lamb is now readily available – and at its best in January, February and March, when British lamb is in short supply.

BUYING TIPS: WHAT TO LOOK FOR As with beef, the flavour of lamb improves immensely if it is hung – ideally for about a week. So buy lamb from a good butcher. Lamb bones should be pink in colour. The rib bones from the middle of the carcass are good examples of this. Known to the butcher as ‘cherry ribs’, they are bright pink when the lamb is young. As the animal gets older, the bones lose their pinkness and become whiter. The colour of fresh lamb varies according to age and pasture. It should be bright, moist (but not overly wet) and brownish-pink (not too red or bloody). The fat should be firm, dry and slightly crumbly (not at all yellow). Don’t worry if there are any coloured stamps on the flesh – they are made using vegetable dyes and are completely harmless. Look for joints that are plump and nicely rounded with an almost dry skin, but not dried out or patchy from over-exposure. Salt-marsh lamb is one of the best known types, and is worth buying. Our best examples come from Wales or Romney Marsh in Kent, where the saltwater-washed pasture adds a distinctive sweet flavour to the meat.

THE CUTS The animal can be divided into three: the fore end, the middle and the hind legs. FORE END SCRAG END The bony part of the neck, which is cut across into thick slices. It has lots of flavour and is best used for slow cooking. MIDDLE NECK OR NECK Similar to the scrag, this can be boned to produce lean neck fillets. shoulder Sold whole or divided into two halves. It can be boned and either rolled into a neat roasting joint or diced for use in casseroles and curries. It also makes the best mince. The shin (i.e. the part lower down the front leg) can be removed from a whole shoulder. It is known as the fore shank and is ideal for braising. MIDDLE BEST END OF NECK OR BEST END This consists of the first eight ribs of the animal, known as ‘the rack’. The meat and fat are usually trimmed away from the tops of the bones before cooking, and this is known as ‘French trimming’. A rack can be cut between the bones to give lamb cutlets.

LOIN Can be left as one joint: on the bone for roasting or boned and rolled into a joint, which is great for stuffing if some of the flank is still attached. It can also be cut between the bones into loin chops. CHUMP This cut comes from where the loin meets the leg, and can be divided to produce two chump chops and a small, on-the-bone roasting joint called the chump end. Alternatively, the whole chump can be boned and sliced across into lamb steaks, or tied into a nice, plump little joint that is sometimes described on restaurant menus as the rump. Also ideal for stewing. SADDLE OF LAMB The loin from either side of the animal, still joined by the backbone. It weighs about 3kg and easily serves 8-10 people. BREAST The belly area of the lamb. Usually boned and rolled for roasting or pot-roasting. HIND LEGS LEG A whole leg of lamb weighs between 2.25-2.75kg and will feed eight people, but can also be divided into two smaller roasting joints: the knuckle end and the fillet end.

Whole legs can also be sliced across, on or off the bone, into leg steaks for grilling. Legs can be boned and rolled into an easy-to-carve roasting joint. BUTTERFLIED A ‘butterflied’ leg of lamb has simply been open-boned to leave one large piece of meat, shaped roughly like a butterfly. LAMB SHANKS Shanks are cut from the thinner end of the leg and are ideal for slow-cooking. Each serves one person.

Question: What is the bony neck end of mutton commonly called
Answer: Scrag end